Billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk said he is excited about the prospect of joining Donald Trump’s administration if he is re-elected in November. The Twitter owner gave Trump his full endorsement after the attempt on the former President’s life in Pennsylvania and subsequently interviewed him for two hours online. Responding to a report that Trump may appoint him to pinpoint cuts in federal agencies, he tweeted, “I can’t wait.”
In their long discussion in August, former President Trump praised Mr. Musk’s approach to employees and his willingness to fire people who participate in strikes or lay off thousands of staff with scant notice. Last April, the billionaire confirmed he had fired 80% of Twitter staff after taking over the platform and had emailed workers demanding “long hours at high intensity” or they would lose their jobs.
Vice President Kamala Harris and her campaign immediately seized upon Trump’s remarks to Musk and told American voters that the former President has no respect for working people. The Harris campaign said Trump serves only “people like Elon Musk and himself—self-obsessed rich guys.”
Trump’s remarks also prompted a clash with some of America’s largest unions, most of which have now backed Kamala Harris. Shawn Fain, leader of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, called the Republican candidate a “scab” and filed labor charges against him with the National Labor Relations Board for supporting firing striking employees.
Fain has campaigned alongside Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Walz is a union member who used Labor Day to speak to workers and warn them of the consequences of a Trump White House. Meanwhile, his Republican counterpart, Ohio Senator JD Vance, was booed by fire department staff when he described the GOP ticket as the most pro-worker Republican team in American history.
While several unions have backed Harris, Teamsters, with a membership of 1.3 million, has yet to declare its preference. Sean O’Brien, its leader, spoke at the Republican National Convention, saying he was there to “highlight the importance of workers.” Nevertheless, after hearing Trump’s comments to Elon Musk, he described them as a manifestation of “economic terrorism.”
